Take control of Wei Zhongxian at the start and confiscate 100 million from him!

Chapter 80 I Will Not Fail My Mission
Li Chaoqin walked leisurely to the Minister's desk and sat down without any ceremony. The eunuch behind him immediately served him freshly brewed fragrant tea.

He leisurely skimmed the foam off the tea with the lid, but his gaze swept coldly over everyone in the room like that of a supervisor.

The clatter of abacuses, the rustling of brushes across paper, and the suppressed breathing of officials blended together to create a symphony of frighteningly high efficiency.

An hour later, at the capital's Taicang silver treasury.

The heavy iron gate, which required eight strong men to push, slowly opened, and a musty, cold, metallic smell wafted out.

Rows of huge wooden crates were stacked on both sides of the passageway inside the warehouse, with seals affixed to the crates indicating the year they were stored.

Under the cold gaze of the Imperial Guard captains, the warehouse workers tremblingly carried out box after box of sealed official silver.

Each box was pried open on the spot by Li Chaoqin's confidants with an iron bar to check its quality, weighed on a large scale, then resealed with sealing wax, and the character "宣" was branded on the box.

Meanwhile, the royal granary in Tongzhou, west of Beijing.

Bags of plump, sturdy grain were carried onto four-wheeled carts that had been waiting outside.

Cloth, Sichuan salt, and the finest iron—all the supplies listed in the imperial edict were being diverted from the heart of the empire at an unprecedented, almost frenzied pace.

Outside the warehouse, a completely different scene unfolds.

Rows of soldiers, clad in heavy black armor, wearing iron helmets and covered with iron netting, stood silently in formation, waiting. They were exceptionally tall, with a deep and imposing presence. Even in the dim sunlight, the muskets in their hands and the goose-feather sabers at their waists still gleamed with a chilling light that sent shivers down one's spine.

They were the new army, the imperial guards personally selected by the emperor from the weak and strong in the capital garrison, and the best among the refugees, armed with the finest weaponry and the most generous pay. They were a private army and a blade that obeyed only the emperor's orders.

As soon as the supplies left the warehouse, they were immediately taken over.

Loading, covering, and securing with thick hemp ropes—all the movements were synchronized and uniform, without a single unnecessary sound or word, like a precise and ruthless war machine at work.

When the last carriage was loaded, Li Chaoqin walked out of the warehouse and glanced at the sky.

It has been less than three hours since he stepped into the Ministry of Revenue.

A torrent of carriages, under the joint protection of the new army and the Imperial Guards, slowly began to move. The heavy wheels rolled over the bluestone roads of the capital, raising clouds of dust as they headed northwest toward Zhangyi Gate.

The people and officials along the way were all shocked and looked on in astonishment.

……

dusk.

Outside Zhangyi Gate in the capital city, along the ancient road with its long pavilion.

The setting sun burned the horizon into a magnificent yet tragic crimson, and the afterglow shone on Man Gui's weathered face, making the wrinkles around his eyes and forehead appear as if they had been carved by a knife and axe.

The summons on the platform, the eerie yet precise map, and the earth-shattering words burned away the humiliation, confusion, and bewilderment that had accumulated in his heart for many years, leaving behind ashes strong enough to melt gold and iron, and from those ashes reborn a mountain of responsibility and a fiery fighting spirit.

He had changed into a black outfit suitable for riding, with his family's long sword, which he never parted with and whose blade was covered with tiny nicks, hanging at his waist. Behind him were only a dozen or so personal guards who had fought alongside him in the Xuanfu camp. Each of them was a fierce soldier who had crawled out of piles of corpses. They were taciturn, but their eyes were as sharp as wolves.

Officials from the Ministry of War's Office were already waiting at the pavilion.

His gaze toward Man Gui was filled with complex emotions—awe, envy, and a hint of unspeakable confusion. He respectfully presented Man Gui with a heavy sandalwood box and an imperial edict wrapped in bright yellow brocade.

Inside the wooden box was the "Seal of the General Who Guards the North," carved from the finest Hetian jade, representing supreme authority.

The imperial edict was written in the most ornate language, filled with authorizations that would drive any military general mad.

The governor-general was in charge of military and political affairs, controlled the generals, and was also in charge of finances and provisions, with the authority to appoint and dismiss officials independently...

Man Gui calmly accepted the jade seal, placing the cool jade seal close to his body, while handing the imperial edict to the captain of the personal guards behind him for safekeeping.

His gaze passed over the pavilion and remained fixed on the official road, which was bathed in the golden light of the setting sun.

That was his battlefield.

Just then, a muffled rumbling sound came from the direction of the city gate behind them, and the ground seemed to tremble slightly.

Man Gui instinctively reined in his horse and looked back.

Then, he saw a scene he would never forget. He saw a long, endless dragon made of carriages, wood, and flesh and blood.

Large carts, fully loaded with supplies, were continuously driving out of the Zhangyi Gate under the escort of hundreds of elite Xuanjia soldiers and Jinyiwei guards. The neatly stacked grain sacks and heavy wooden boxes sealed with sealing wax on the carts created a powerful and impactful picture in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Man Gui's pupils contracted violently in an instant.

He spent half his life on the battlefield, serving the empire and rising from an unknown soldier to the rank of general. He knew all too well the conditions in the border towns!
Shortages of pay, food, armor, and weapons... those were the most frequent, yet most powerless, complaints from the border generals.

Every time a request for supplies was made to the imperial court, it involved a lengthy official document process and endless wrangling.

The Ministry of War's note, the Ministry of Revenue's disdain, the Cabinet's approval, the Directorate of Ceremonial's "tribute"... after being stripped down layer by layer, being able to get 70% of the planned amount would already be an immense favor, worthy of burning incense and kowtowing in gratitude!
But now...

The emperor's promise to him on the platform still echoed in his ears.

And this promise, in less than a day, has transformed into the tangible and powerful torrent of supplies before our eyes!
What courage! What execution!

Man Gui was once again deeply shocked. The flame that the emperor had ignited burned even brighter at this moment, almost bursting from his eyes.

At the very front of the caravan, a commander of the Imperial Guards, dressed in a flying fish robe and wearing an embroidered spring knife at his waist, saw Man Gui standing by the roadside. He urged his magnificent Western Region horse forward a few steps.

The visitor was none other than Li Ruolian, the Deputy Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"Governor-General Manchu." Li Ruolian nodded slightly from her horse.

"Lord Li," Man Gui returned the greeting with clasped hands.

Li Ruolian took out a letter sealed with sealing wax from her bosom. The envelope was completely blank, with no writing on it.

"His Majesty's oral decree, this is a personal letter, please open it personally, Governor."

Man Gui took the letter, tore off the sealing wax, and unfolded the letter.

There were no lengthy instructions or tedious formalities, only a few lines of large characters written in the slender gold script, their power penetrating the paper.

"The burdens of past paperwork have been swept away for you; now that you hold arms, you must serve the country with new achievements!"

These words, like an invisible mountain, crashed down on Man Gui's heart.

He seemed to see again the young emperor on the platform, his eyes calm and profound like the starry sea.

Man Gui carefully folded the letter, placed it close to his body in his bosom, and put it next to the cool jade seal.

He looked up at Li Ruolian, his voice hoarse with excitement, yet each word was firm and resolute:
"Please reply to Your Majesty, your subject, Man Gui, will certainly not fail in his mission!"

Li Ruolian nodded, said no more, turned her horse around, and returned to the guard team.

Man Gui took a deep breath, inhaling the twilight and dust of the capital, but exhaling the soaring passion that had been suppressed for half his life!
He suddenly jerked the reins, and the jet-black warhorse that had been with him for many years seemed to sense its master's intention. It let out a long neigh, raised its front hooves, and reared up!

"set off!"

A loud shout, like a thunderclap from a clear sky.

There was no farewell, no turning back, and no attention paid to the dumbfounded officials from the Ministry of War.

One man, on horseback, followed by more than ten elite guards, charged forward like a shooting star streaking across the blood-red twilight, resolutely heading onto the road leading to the unknown and perilous.

Man Gui rode ahead and disappeared into the deepening night.

He was the first spark ignited by the emperor.

He was going to that vast and cold grassland, and before Huang Taiji ignited the raging wildfire that would sweep across the land, he would first use the benevolence and wealth of the Ming Dynasty to turn those wavering tribes into an indestructible dam.

Or at least, to secure the most precious thing for this empire behind them, a cradle riddled with deep-seated problems yet now beginning to show signs of rebirth—

time.

(End of this chapter)